Rank 8 by frequency | 108 questions in corpus (4.4% of all questions)
Asks the test-taker to take a principle, theory, viewpoint, or pattern described in the passage and apply it to a completely new scenario not discussed in the passage. The new scenario is described in the stem or the answer choices. This is one of the highest-order RC question types because it requires both comprehension and transfer.
Application to New Context has 5 distinct subtypes that vary in how the new context is introduced and what the test-taker must do with it:
Presents a concept from the passage and asks which answer choice exemplifies it in a new context. - "Based on the passage, which one of the following would be an example of [concept from passage]?" - "Which one of the following is most clearly an example of the kind of [X] discussed in the passage?"
What makes it distinct: The test-taker must abstract the concept's defining features from the passage and match them to a concrete example. The concept is named in the stem; the examples are in the answer choices.
Names a person from the passage and asks how they would evaluate a new scenario. - "Based on the information in the passage, which one of the following would [person] be most likely to view as [X]?" - "Based on the passage, [person] would be most likely to view as [positive/negative] which one of the following?"
What makes it distinct: Requires building a model of a specific person's values, priorities, and viewpoints from the passage, then applying that model to evaluate new scenarios.
Asks which scenario is most consistent with or applicable to a passage concept. - "Which one of the following situations is most consistent with [X] as described in the passage?" - "Which one of the following would be most consistent with the policy of [X]?"
The most common subtype. Presents a hypothetical scenario and asks what would follow under the passage's framework. - "Suppose [hypothetical scenario]. Based on the passage, which one of the following would most likely be the case?" - "The information in the passage indicates that if [X] were given [Y], which one of the following might be expected?" - "Given the information in the passage, which one of the following would most likely be considered objectionable by proponents of [X]?"
What makes it distinct: The hypothetical is described in the stem (often in a "suppose" or "if" clause), and the answer choices describe possible consequences or evaluations. The test-taker must apply the passage's logic to the hypothetical.
Asks what passage authors or figures would say about new scenarios or each other's subjects. - "The authors of the passages would be most likely to agree that..." - "The author of passage A would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements regarding [X]?" - "Based on passage A, which educational program would be most likely to result in [X]?"
What makes it distinct: Many of these overlap with Inference (Variation C) and Adapting to New Context. They're classified as Application when the answer requires applying passage principles to evaluate something not discussed in the passage.
The question writer identifies a principle, theory, criterion, or pattern in the passage that can be abstracted from its specific context: - A legal theory's criteria for ownership - A scientist's methodology for evaluating evidence - An artist's aesthetic principles - A critic's standards for evaluating quality - A policy framework's conditions for success
The new scenario must: - Be from a different domain than the passage (e.g., if the passage is about art, the scenario might be about science) - Contain enough information for the passage's principle to yield a determinate answer - Not require outside knowledge to evaluate — the scenario should be self-contained - Have structural parallels to the passage situation but different surface content
The correct answer: - Correctly applies the passage's principle/theory to the new scenario - Matches the passage's logic at the abstract level, not the surface level - Reaches the conclusion the passage's framework would predict for the new scenario
Trap Type 1: Surface Match, Logic Mismatch Shares topical similarity with the passage but doesn't actually match the principle. If the passage's theory values accessibility, a wrong answer might describe something technologically advanced (same topic area) but not accessible.
Trap Type 2: Wrong Principle Applied Applies a different principle from the passage — one that's discussed but not the one the question targets. If the passage discusses three criteria, a wrong answer correctly applies criterion B when the question asks about criterion A.
Average 28.5 words — the longest of any type. The stems are long because they must describe the new context or scenario in addition to referencing the passage. Many stems contain multi-sentence hypotheticals.
Average 18.7 words. Choices describe new situations, examples, or consequences. Each is a self-contained scenario or evaluation that the test-taker must assess against the passage's framework.
Source: PT42, Q11 Tests whether the student can abstract Lichtenstein's artistic principles and identify a new artwork that embodies them. See Variation A above for full details.
Source: PT69, Q2 Tests perspective-taking — adopting Whatley's viewpoint and evaluating farming scenarios through his criteria. See Variation B above for full details.
Source: PT58, Q17 The most demanding subtype — a detailed hypothetical scenario requiring rigorous application of the tangible-object theory of intellectual property. See Variation D above for full details.
On comparative passages, these often ask what one author's principles would predict about the other's subject matter.